Hundreds cruise through car show

Even after Roger Khan added three televisions, two video-game systems and Lamborghini doors to his 1998 Honda Civic, the Germantown, Md., man said he still has more work to do.

Khan, 27, already has put $40,000 into customizing the chameleon-painted car, but still plans to add two more televisions and a new motor to it.

Hundreds of people Sunday strolled between cars like Khan's parked in a lot at Hagerstown Community College for the Mid-Atlantic Showdown, a regional car show that drew classic, compact, muscle and street rod cars, SUVs and full-size and low-rider trucks from as far as New Jersey and Virginia.

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Steve Tyler, co-coordinator of the event, said he kept the Dual Highway cruisers in mind when he hosted the first showdown last year.

"In Hagerstown, the guys get hassled for cruising the Dual Highway, so I thought what better way for them to show off their cars," Tyler said.

Khan, although not a Dual cruiser himself, does have a hometown weekend spot where he shows off his Honda. He and his friends play video games fed through a Sony Playstation placed in the dashboard and trunk of his car.

All of his passengers ride in racing seats. Lights glare from beneath them and the bottom of his car. Dials line the driver's-side window and are clustered together in the dash.

Khan put mirrors by his car's tires, which reflected the shine its 17-inch chrome rims gave off.

"I don't think it's too much," he said

The money the Potomac Foods district manager puts into his car doesn't mean that it's the amount of money he will get if he ever decides to sell it.

"It's only worth whatever someone will pay me for it," he said.

Shawn Setherling, 27, has a price set on his blaze-yellow 2002 Subaru WRX, which won Import Best of Show.

The car, which has seats made of race-car material, cost the Baltimore man $30,000. He's put $20,000 into it and now has it insured for $58,200.

The factory limited-edition Subaru is one of only 397 cars remaining from the line in North America.

"Three cars got wrecked and that just raises the value of mine," Setherling said.

Setherling bought the Subaru because not many people customize them, plus the four-wheel-drive car has a good base with which to work.

It has HKS turbo, which equates to 275 horsepower at the wheel, he said.

The names of products his car is equipped with are posted on the doors with silver paint. At least 10 are listed on the driver's-side door alone.

"It's never done. You're never done a car," Setherling said.

Event judge Danny Kendle, 23, said he can't be too subjective when ranking the cars people bring to the show.